Slat floors are commonly used to support loads while simultaneously permitting waste and debris to drop through the spaces between slats to a collection areas below the slats. The accumulated waste and debris may then be automatically removed, either continuously or periodically for disposal.
For example, in beef feedlot operations, reinforced concrete slat floors are located in strategic areas such as feeding and watering. The slats commonly used in these applications are 8 feet long with a space of approximately 11/2 inches between slats. The floors are created by positioning the slats over collection pits with their ends resting on support ledges adjacent the pit and with their top surfaces flush with the surrounding floor. The slats taper inwardly so that the space between the slats is wider at the bottom than at the top thereby preventing clogging of the spaces by the accumulation of waste and debris. As the cattle live and move around on these floors the manure from the cattle falls through the spaces between the slats and into the collection pit. The manure is then conveyed to a holding tank for later distribution on the field to provide fertilizer and organic material to assist in building the soil for plant growth.
Some slat floors have been cast in place, however, these have suffered from the major disadvantage of having rough top surfaces and edges which tend to chip thereby enlarging the space between slats and decreasing the strength of the slats.
Slats are commonly formed in molds in a manufacturer's plant rather than at the user's site and are formed in an upside down position. The wearing surfaces, which include the top surfaces and sides of the slats, are formed by steel molds which can produce smooth wearing surfaces with smooth rounded corners.
With previously known slat floors, the slats have been manufactured individually and shipped to the user's site where they have been installed slat by slat which results in high installation costs.
At the time of installation, lateral support of these previously known slats has usually been provided in one of two ways: (1) after the slats are positioned, forms are set and the spaces between slats at the point where the slats rest on the supporting ledges are filled with concrete, or, (2) precast lintels having close-fitting slat supporting notches in their upper surfaces are placed on the supporting ledges and the slats are then placed in the close-fitting notches in the lintels. Adequate lateral support is necessary to prevent the slats from tipping sideways and restricting or closing the openings between the slats.
With these conventional slat floors, it is necessary for each individual slat to be fabricated with adequate strength to support the largest combination of concentrated loading which might occur on any individual slat during the lifetime of the slat floor. For example, four or five heavy cattle might stand with their front feet on the same slat. Since the front feet carry the majority of the animal's weight, this combination produces the maximum load on the slat. Obviously, adjacent slats will carry little or no load as they will be shielded by the bodies and heads of these animals. Since this maximum load can occur on any slat, each slat must be designed to carry the maximum load.
These previously known slat floors have been expensive to manufacture, transport and install because they are heavy and must be individually installed slat by slat at the user's site.
Therefore, it is the primary object of this invention to provide a new and improved slat floor and novel method of manufacture utilizing separable forms.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel slat floor which is interconnected and provides a significant reduction in the required strength of individual slats and therefore material cost and shipping weight, of slat floors.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing a load distributing and interconnecting slat floor which permits the casting of two or more steel-reinforced concrete slats rigidly connected together with the desired spacing in such a way that all connecting steel is completely encased in concrete.
An additional object of the present invention is to provide a reinforced concrete slat floor which permits rigid connection of slats to adjacent slats during field installation in such a way that all connecting steel rods are completely encased in concrete thereby avoiding the corrosive effect of manure.
A still further advantage of the present invention is to provide slat floors which materially reduce the field installation costs.